Why Coexistence Is Key In The Life Of A Recovering Addict
Addictions have been defined as pathologies in which the addicted person feels increasingly isolated, increasingly separated from everything that does not imply facilitating access to the drug or the behaviors towards which they have developed dependence.
We can say that addictive disorders have their reason for being in their capacity to put human beings in a loop of abstinence and relapses, leading them to cut off family, friendship and relationship relationships, or deteriorating them due to that uncontrollable need to continue delving into addiction… Unless you go to therapy.
But even when a person with this problem goes to health professionals, Your ability to make progress in addiction treatment will depend on the way you live with your partner or family, so much of the work of psychotherapists and psychiatrists focuses on training certain social and communication skills. Let’s see why this is.
Many people make the mistake of assuming that because addictions are diseases, that means they are limited to the biological processes that take place within the body of the affected person. However, reality is not so simple: addictive disorders, like many other psychological and neurological disorders, affect and are affected by social phenomena in the person’s environment.
In other words, addictions are linked to the personal relationships maintained by those who have developed that health problem, for better or worse. Because of this, the way in which the person affected by addiction learns to manage their relationships and expose themselves more or less to certain social environments includes a lot in their recovery process when starting treatment.
Why is coexistence key to overcoming an addiction?
These are the main reasons why addressing or neglecting coexistence problems in the life of the addicted person is a decisive factor in the success or stagnation of the process of overcoming an addiction.
1. What happens at home makes it easier or more difficult to organize routines
Most addiction treatments place great importance on the need to organize your day-to-day well, establishing a schedule and limiting the possibility of exposing yourself to distractions that unstructure the day. However, living with someone who is not aligned with that way of life can make things difficult. For example, let’s think about a person who doesn’t go to sleep until late at night and makes noise, who keeps the home messy, who doesn’t leave the room clear where you have to go to take online classes at a certain time, etc. .
2. Family dynamics have a great capacity to generate “spikes” of stress
Relapses in addictions are, in a very high percentage, the consequence of a stressful experience from which the person looks for immediate ways to escape. In this sense, frequent arguments at home or family crises can create the breeding ground for something like this to happen.
3. Having the support of loved ones is a motivating element
Many people who suffer from addiction point out that one of the elements that generates the most motivation for them to continue with abstinence is the way in which they perceive that their progress is valued at home. But to do this, these people must be actively interested in this process of improvement, asking about news in that sense, offering support at key moments… All these communicative exchanges act as a reminder that there is a journey towards an improvement that has already begun. , and furthermore, they show that we can continue to experience the well-being of happiness by seeing our progress if we continue on that path.
4. Blaming the addicted person facilitates relapses
Families in which the addicted person is blamed for their difficulties in overcoming addiction are, in fact, hindering the process of overcoming that disorder. The feeling of guilt and frustration with oneself is among the main triggers of relapse.
5. Not having drugs at home is a decisive element
Finally, we must not forget that one of the pillars of addiction treatment is to reduce to a minimum or completely eradicate easy access to drugs or addictive behavior. Therefore, trying to overcome an addiction while living in the same home as another person who always has drugs in that place is practically totally sabotaging the recovery process.
Are you looking for addiction treatment?
If you want to have a comprehensive addiction treatment service, contact us.
In Llaurant la Llum We specialize in caring for patients who suffer from addictive disorders, and we offer the possibility of receiving medical and psychotherapeutic care through treatment in the form of admission to our residential module or through outpatient care.
